Boston pro sports news and analysis from
Brian MacPherson of the New Hampshire Union Leader.

Sunday, October 19, 2008

It's over

It's over. It's heartbreaking in a lot of ways, the way it always is, but it's over.

But how many times was it over before it was over today?

It was over when Josh Beckett strained his oblique before the playoffs even started. But then it wasn't over.

It was over when Beckett showed he wasn't himself in Game 3 against the Angels. But then it wasn't over.

It was over when Daisuke Matsuzaka loaded the bases in the first inning of Game 1 against the Rays. But then it wasn't over.

It was over when Evan Longoria went deep in the bottom of the first inning of Game 2. But then it wasn't over.

It was over when Carlos Pena singled to left and Longoria doubled to left and Carl Crawford singled to right to give the Rays a two-run lead in the fifth inning of that same game. But then it wasn't over.

It was over when B.J. Upton hit a three-run home run against Jon Lester in Game 3. But then it wasn't over.

It was over when Longoria and Pena went back-to-back against Tim Wakefield in the first inning of Game 4. But then it wasn't over.

It was over when Upton hit a two-run home run in the first inning of Game 5. It was over when Pena and Longoria went back-to-back in the third. It was really over when Upton hit a two-run double against Jonathan Papelbon in the seventh.

But then it wasn't over. It couldn't have been less over.

It could have been over for the Red Sox so many times. It finally was over for good when Akinori Iwamura scooped up a Jed Lowrie grounder and stomped on second base for the final out of Game 7 of the American League Championship Series.